UNIT-1

Introduction to Satellite Communications

Satellite Communication combines the missile

and microwave technologies

The space era started in 1957 with the

launching of the first artificial satellite
(sputnik)

Satellite Communications
Satellite-based antenna(e) in stable orbit above earth.
Two or more (earth) stations communicate via one or
more satellites serving as relay(s) in space.
Uplink: earth->satellite.
Downlink: satellite->earth.
Transponder: satellite electronics converting uplink
signal to downlink.

Satellite Communications
Satellite Transponder is a microwave device
consisting of receiver, repeater and regenerator in
orbit
Satellite transmission involves sending signals to
satellite that receive, amplify, and transmit back to
earth

Capabilities of Satellite Transmission

Point-to-point transmission
To transfer large volume of data
Voice, data, etc communication
Video conference

Point-to-multipoint transmission
Data communication
Internet
Video conference

Broadcast services such as television

Satellite Network Configurations

Advantages of Satellite Communication

LARGE CAPACITY

One satellite = 10 transponders = 10x120 Mbit/s. Total transmission capacity = 1

Gbit/s

COVERAGE

A single geostationary satellite can provide communications coverage for some

42.4% of the Earths surface, using much less power and much less infrastructure
than would be required for a terrestrial system with similar coverage.

WIDEBAND SERVICE

- allows for transmission of:

- TV
- high bit date rate

High availability

There are very few sources of disruption to the Earth-satellite propagation path that
cannot be factored into the original link budget, which means that satellite
communications have a very high availability.

Good quality

Again, since the variations in the satellite path are few and well-characterized, the
link budget for a particular path can be determined to guarantee a desired level of
quality of service.

History of satellite communication

1945

1957
1960
1963
1965

1976
1982
1988
1993
1998

Arthur C. Clarke publishes an essay about Extra

Terrestrial Relays
first satellite SPUTNIK
first reflecting communication satellite ECHO
first geostationary satellite SYNCOM
first commercial geostationary satellite Satellit Early Bird
(INTELSAT I): 240 duplex telephone channels or 1 TV
channel, 1.5 years lifetime
three MARISAT satellites for maritime communication
first mobile satellite telephone system INMARSAT-A
first satellite system for mobile phones and data
communication INMARSAT-C
first digital satellite telephone system
global satellite systems for small mobile phones

Sputnik 1
Launched October 14,
1957
from the Baikonur
Cosmodrome in
Kazakhstan

184 pounds
Orbital period 90 minutes
Broadcast beep beep
20 and 40 MHz

Shocked the US into

action
Started space race

Now: Boeing 702 DBS Satellite

134.5 feet long

2645 lbs payload
11,464 lbs takeoff weight
Over 100 high-power
transponders (94
active/24 spare)
Up to 25 kW power
Xenon-Ion Propulsion
System
Built for direct broadcast
and point to point
services.

Intercontinental telephone,
data, and video relay
Initially satellite links were only:
One-way video and data traffic
Backup to undersea telephone cables
Because:
Nominal 1-2 second time delay for a round-trip voice
message.

VSAT - Private Networks

VSAT
Very Small Aperture
Terminal

Replaces wireline data

connections to
businesses
Convenience stores,
malls, restaurants, gas
stations

Common uses
Muzak background music
Credit card transactions
Corporate
communications

64kbps to 2Mbps

Mobile Satellite Services

Inmarsat - communications to ships at sea.
Expanded

Aircraft
Trucks
Rail locomotives.
Suitcase sized terminals
Used extensively in disaster situations and remote
exploration.

Not suitable for handheld equipment

Antennas and terminals required

Analog and digital services are used.

In the Future ?
Internet backbone services
Teledesic

Internet in the sky

120 Mb uplink
720 Mb downlink.
Ka band

LEO constellation
Inter-satellite links
Scalable

Viability in question
Iridium debacle

System scaled back

From 240 satellites
To only 30 satellites
Nothing launched yet

Major Organisations
INTELSAT (1964), global (about 140 countries),
FSS and BSS systems
EUTELSAT (1977) 47 countries (Europe and former
USSR countries), FSS and BSS systems

INMARSAT (1979) global, mobile systems

SES Astra (1988) private, DTH-TV

Satellite Services
FSS Fixed Satellite Services (VSAT
networks,..)
MSS Mobile Satellite Services (Inmarsat
systems,...)
BSS Broadcasting Satellite Services ( TV,
DVB..)
RDSS Radiodetermination Satellite Services
(GPS)

Satellite Orbits

Satellite Orbits
GEO
advantages:
- the satellite appears to be fixed (immovable) when viewed from the Earth, no
tracking required for earth station antennas
- about. 40% of the earth`s surface is in view from the satellite
disadvantages:
- high attenuation level (power loss) (200dB) on the path
- large signal delay (238-284ms)
- polar regions (latitudes > 81 deg.) are not covered

LEO
advantages:
- much smaller attenuation compare GEO satellites
- low signal delay
disadvantages:
- short period satellite visibility (through earth station), many times during the
day
- Doppler effect
- many satellites are required for establishing continuous transmission

Satellite period and orbits

satellite
period [h]

24
velocity [ x1000 km/h]
20
16
12
8
synchronous distance
35,786 km

10

20

30
radius

40 x106 m

Orbits I
Four different types of satellite orbits can be identified
depending on the shape and diameter of the orbit:
GEO: geostationary orbit, ca. 36000 km above earth
surface
LEO (Low Earth Orbit): ca. 500 - 1500 km
MEO (Medium Earth Orbit) or ICO (Intermediate
Circular Orbit): ca. 6000 - 20000 km
HEO (Highly Elliptical Orbit) elliptical orbits

Orbits II
GEO (Inmarsat)
HEO

MEO (ICO)

LEO
(Globalstar,
Irdium)

inner and outer Van

Allen belts
earth
1000
10000

Van-Allen-Belts:
ionized particels
2000 - 6000 km and
15000 - 30000 km
above earth surface

35768
km

Space Weather

Geostationary satellites
Orbit 35.786 km distance to earth surface, orbit in equatorial plane
(inclination 0)
complete rotation exactly one day, satellite is synchronous to earth rotation
fix antenna positions, no adjusting necessary
satellites typically have a large footprint (up to 34% of earth surface!),
therefore difficult to reuse frequencies
bad elevations in areas with latitude above 60 due to fixed position above
the equator
high transmit power needed
high latency due to long distance (ca. 275 ms)
not useful for global coverage for small mobile phones and data
transmission, typically used for radio and TV transmission

LEO systems

Orbit ca. 500 - 1500 km above earth surface

visibility of a satellite ca. 10 - 40 minutes
global radio coverage possible
latency comparable with terrestrial long distance connections, ca. 5 - 10
ms
smaller footprints, better frequency reuse
but now handover necessary from one satellite to another
many satellites necessary for global coverage
more complex systems due to moving satellites

Examples:
Iridium (start 1998, 66 satellites)
Globalstar (start 1999, 48 satellites)

MEO systems

Orbit ca. 5000 - 12000 km above earth surface

comparison with LEO systems:
slower moving satellites
less satellites needed
simpler system design
for many connections no hand-over needed
higher latency, ca. 70 - 80 ms
higher sending power needed
special antennas for small footprints needed

Example:
ICO (Intermediate Circular Orbit, Inmarsat) start ca. 2000

GEO vs LEO
GEO
advantages:
- the satellite appears to be fixed (immovable) when viewed from the Earth, no tracking
required for earth station antennas
- about. 40% of the earth`s surface is in view from the satellite
disadvantages:
- high attenuation level (power loss) (200dB) on the path
- large signal delay (238-284ms)
- polar regions (latitudes > 81 deg.) are not covered
LEO
advantages:
- much smaller attenuation compare GEO satellites
- low signal delay
disadvantages:
- short period satellite visibility (through earth station),
- many times during the day
- Doppler effect
- many satellites are required for establishing continuous transmission

Communication Satellites

Overview of LEO/MEO systems

# satellites
altitude
(km)
coverage
min.
elevation
frequencies
[GHz
(circa)]
access
method
ISL
bit rate
# channels
Lifetime
[years]
cost
estimation

Iridium
66 + 6
780

Globalstar
48 + 4
1414

ICO
10 + 2
10390

Teledesic
288
ca. 700

global
8

70 latitude
20

global
20

global
40

1.6 MS
29.2
19.5
23.3 ISL
FDMA/TDMA

1.6 MS
2.5 MS
5.1
6.9
CDMA

2 MS
2.2 MS
5.2
7
FDMA/TDMA

19
28.8
62 ISL

yes
2.4 kbit/s

no
9.6 kbit/s

no
4.8 kbit/s

4000
5-8

2700
7.5

4500
12

yes
64 Mbit/s
2/64 Mbit/s
2500
10

4.4 B$

2.9 B$

4.5 B$

9 B$

FDMA/TDMA

Spectrum Allocation
Frequency Spectrum concepts:
Frequency: Rate at which an electromagnetic wave reverts its polarity
(oscillates) in cycles per second or Hertz (Hz).

Wavelength: distance between wavefronts in space. Given in meters as:

= c/f
Where: c = speed of light (3x108 m/s in vacuum) f = frequency in Hertz
Frequency band: range of frequencies.
Bandwidth: Size or width (in Hertz) or a frequency band.
Electromagnetic Spectrum: full extent of all frequencies from zero to infinity.

Radio Frequencies (RF)

RF Frequencies: Part of the electromagnetic spectrum
ranging between 300 MHz and 300 GHz. Interesting properties:
Efficient generation of signal power
Radiates into free space
Efficient reception at a different point.
Differences depending on the RF frequency used:
- Signal Bandwidth
- Propagation effects (diffraction, noise, fading)
- Antenna Sizes

Microwave Frequencies
Sub-range of the RF frequencies approximately from
1GHz to 30GHz. Main properties:
-

Line of sight propagation (space and atmosphere).

Blockage by dense media (hills, buildings, rain)

Wide bandwidths compared to lower frequency bands.

Compact antennas, directionality possible.

Reduced efficiency of power amplification as frequency grows:

Radio Frequency Power OUT

Direct Current Power IN

Radio Frequency Spectrum

Commonly Used Bands

Frequency Bands

Frequency allocation
Band
Uhf Military
S Band
L Band
C Band - Commercial
X Band - Military
Ku Band - Commercial
Ka Band - Commercial
Ka Band - Military
Q/V Geostationary
Q/V Non-geostationary
W Band

Downlink Bands, GHz

0.25 - 0.27 (Approximately)

Uplink Bands, GHz

0.292 - 0.312 (Approximately)

3.7 - 4.2
7.25 - 7.75
11.7 - 12.2
17.7 - 21.2
20.2 - 21.2
37.5 - 40.5
37.5 - 38.5
66.0 - 67.0

5.925 - 6.425
7.9 - 8.4
14.0 - 14.5
27.5 - 30.0
43.5 - 45.5
47.2 - 50.2
48.2 - 49.2
71.0 - 72.0

Antennas

C-Band

Ku-band

Insights on Frequency Selection:

(Part 1: Lower frequencies, stronger links)
LEO satellites need lower RF frequencies:
Omni-directional antennas on handsets have low gain - typically
G = 0 db = 1
Flux density F in W/m2 at the earths surface in any beam is
independent of frequency
Received power is F x A watts , where A is effective area of
antenna in square meters
For an omni-directional antenna A = G 2/ 4 = 2/ 4
At 450 MHz, A = 353 cm2, at 20 GHz, A = 0.18 cm2
Difference is 33 dB - so dont use 20 GHz with an omni!

Insights on Frequency Selection:

(Part 2: Higher frequencies, higher capacity)
GEO satellites need more RF frequencies
High speed data links on GEO satellites need about 0.8
Hz of RF bandwidth per bit/sec.
A 155 Mbps data link requires 125 MHz bandwidth
Available RF bandwidth:
C band
Ku band
Ka band
Q/V band

500 MHz (All GEO slots occupied)

750 MHz (Most GEO slots occupied)
2000 MHz (proliferating)
?

Satellite Link Performance Factors

Distance between earth station antenna and satellite
antenna
For downlink, terrestrial distance between earth
station antenna and aim point of satellite
Displayed as a satellite footprint

Atmospheric attenuation
Affected by oxygen, water, angle of elevation, and higher
frequencies

Elevation
Elevation:
angle between center of satellite beam
and surface

minimal elevation:
elevation needed at least
to communicate with the satellite

Atmospheric attenuation
Attenuation of
the signal in %
50

Example: satellite systems at 4-6 GHz

40

rain absorption

30
fog absorption
20

10
atmospheric
absorption
5 10

20

30

elevation of the satellite

40

50

Applications
Traditionally
weather satellites
radio and TV broadcast satellites
military satellites
satellites for navigation and localization (e.g., GPS)
Telecommunication
global telephone connections
replaced by fiber optics
backbone for global networks
connections for communication in remote places or
underdeveloped areas
global mobile communication

Initial application of GEO Satellites:

Telephony
1965 Early Bird

34 kg

240 telephone ccts.

1968 Intelsat III

152 kg 1

500 circuits

1986 Intelsat VI

1,800 kg

33,000 circuits

2000 Large GEO

3000 kg

8 - 15 kW power
1,200 kg payload

Current GEO Satellite Applications:

Broadcasting - mainly TV at present
DirecTV, PrimeStar, etc.
Point to Multi-point communications
VSAT, Video distribution for Cable TV
Mobile Services
Motient (former American Mobile Satellite),
INMARSAT, etc.

Satellite Navigation:
GPS and GLONASS
GPS is a medium earth orbit (MEO) satellite system
GPS satellites broadcast pulse trains with very
accurate time signals
A receiver able to see four GPS satellites can
calculate its position within 30 m anywhere in world
24 satellites in clusters of four, 12 hour orbital period
You never need be lost again
Every automobile and cellular phone will eventually
have a GPS location read-out

Typical satellite systems

Inter Satellite Link
(ISL)

Mobile User
Link (MUL)

Gateway Link
(GWL)

MUL
GWL

small cells
(spotbeams)

base station
or gateway

footprint

ISDN
PSTN: Public Switched
Telephone Network

PSTN

User data

GSM

Satellite System Elements

Space Segment
Satellite

Earth
Stations

SCC
TT&C Ground Station

Ground Segment

Coverage Region

Space Segment
Satellite Launching Phase
Transfer Orbit Phase
Deployment
Operation
TT&C - Tracking Telemetry and Command Station:
Establishes an control and monitoring link with satellite. Tracks
orbit distortions and allows correction planning. Distortions
caused by irregular gravitational forces from non-spherical
Earth and due to the influence of Sun and Moon forces.
SSC - Satellite Control Center, a.k.a.:
OCC - Operations Control Center
SCF - Satellite Control Facility
Provides link signal monitoring for Link Maintenance and
Interference monitoring.
Retirement Phase

Space segment

Satellite Transponder

Ground Segment
Collection of facilities, users and applications.

FSS Fixed Satellite Service

MSS Mobile Satellite Service

Earth Station = Satellite Communication Station (air, ground or sea, fixed or mobile).

System Design Considerations

Basic Principles

Signals
Signals:

Carried by wires as voltage or current

Transmitted through space as electromagnetic waves.
Analog: Voltage or Current proportional to signal. E.g.
Telephone.

Digital: Generated by computers.

Ex. Binary = 1 or 0 corresponding to +1V or 1V.

Separating Signals
Up and Down:
FDD: Frequency Division Duplexing.
f1 = Uplink
f2 = Downlink
TDD: Time Division Duplexing.
t1=Up, t2=Down, t3=Up, t4=Down,.
Polarization
V & H linear polarization
RH & LH circular polarizations

Separating Signals
(so that many transmitters can use the same transponder
simultaneously)

Between Users or Channels (Multiple Access):

FDMA: Frequency Division Multiple Access; assigns
each transmitter its own carrier frequency
f1 = User 1; f2 = User 2; f3 = User 3,

TDMA: Time Division Multiple Access; each

transmitter is given its own time slot
t1=User_1, t2=User_2, t3=User_3, t4 = User_1, ...

CDMA: Code Division Multiple Access; each

transmitter transmits simultaneously and at the same
frequency and each transmission is modulated by its
own pseudo randomly coded bit stream
Code 1 = User 1; Code 2 = User 2; Code 3 = User 3

Digital Communication System

Current Trends in Satellite

Communications
Bigger, heavier, GEO satellites with multiple roles
More direct broadcast TV and Radio satellites
Expansion into Ka, Q, V bands (20/30, 40/50 GHz)
Massive growth in data services fueled by Internet
Mobile services:
May be broadcast services rather than point to point
Make mobile services a successful business?

The Future for Satellite

Communications
Growth requires new frequency bands

Propagation through rain and clouds becomes a problem as

RF frequency is increased
C-band (6/4 GHz)

Rain has little impact 99.99%

availability is possible

Ku-band (10-12 GHz)

Link margin of 3 dB needed for

99.8% availability

Ka-band (20 - 30 GHz)

Link margin of 6 dB needed for

99.6% availability

The Future for Satellite

Communications
Low cost phased array antennas for mobiles are needed

Mobile systems are limited by use of omni-directional

antennas
A self-phasing, self-steering phased array antenna with 6
dB gain can quadruple the capacity of a system
Directional antennas allow frequency re-use

The Future for Satellite

Communications
Expected revenues from all Satellite
Communications services should reach $75 billion by
2005
Satellite Direct-to-Home (DTH) Video and Internet
services appear to be the major drivers

Orbital Mechanics

Part 1

Kinematics & Newtons Law

s = Distance traveled in time, t
u = Initial Velocity at t = 0
v = Final Velocity at time = t
a = Acceleration

s = ut + (1/2)at2

v2 = u2 + 2at

v = u + at

F = ma

F = Force acting on the object

Newtons
Second Law

FORCE ON A SATELLITE
Force = Mass Acceleration
Unit of Force is a Newton
A Newton is the force required to accelerate
1 kg by 1 m/s2
Underlying units of a Newton are therefore
(kg) (m/s2)

ACCELERATION FORMULA
a = acceleration due to gravity = / r2 km/s2
r = radius from center of earth
= universal gravitational constant G multiplied
by the mass of the earth ME
is Keplers constant and
= 3.9861352 105 km3/s2
G = 6.672 10-11 Nm2/kg2 or 6.672 10-20
km3/kg s2 in the older units

FORCE ON A SATELLITE : 2
Inward (i.e. centripetal force)
Since Force = Mass

Acceleration

If the Force inwards due to gravity = FIN then

FIN = m
=m

( / r2)

(GME / r2)

Why do satellites stay moving and

in orbit?

v (velocity)

F2
F1
(Gravitational
Force)

(Inertial-Centrifugal
Force)

Orbital Velocities and Periods

Satellite
System

Orbital
Height (km)

INTELSAT

35,786.43

3.0747

23 56 4.091

ICO-Global

10,255

4.8954

5 55 48.4

1,469

7.1272

1 55 17.8

780

7.4624

1 40 27.0

Skybridge
Iridium

Orbital
Velocity (km/s)

Orbital
Period
h min s

FORCE ON A SATELLITE

Forces acting on a satellite in

a stable orbit around the earth.
Gravitational force is inversely
proportional to the square of
the distance between the
centers of gravity of the
satellite and the planet the
satellite is orbiting, in this case
the earth. The gravitational
force inward (FIN, the
centripetal force) is directed
toward the center of gravity of
the earth. The kinetic energy
of the satellite (FOUT, the
centrifugal force) is directed
diametrically opposite to the
gravitational force. Kinetic
energy is proportional to the
square of the velocity of the
satellite. When these inward
and outward forces are
balanced, the satellite moves
around the earth in a free fall
trajectory: the satellites orbit.

If FOUT = FIN
the object is in
FREE FALL

FREE FALL???

ORBIT LIMITS

Geographical Coordinates
Earth Centric Coordinate System

The earth is at the center

of the coordinate system
Reference planes coincide
with the equator and the
polar axis

Orbital Plane Coordinates

The earth is at the
center of the coordinate
system but
Reference is the plane
of the satellites orbit

Balancing the Forces

Inward Force

GM Emr
r

Equation (2.7)

G = Gravitational constant = 6.672

ME = Mass of the earth (and GME =

10-11 Nm2/kg2
= Keplers constant)

m = mass of satellite
r = satellite orbit radius from center of earth
r= unit vector in the r direction (positive r is away from earth)

Balancing the Forces

Outward Force

d2 r
m
dt 2

Equation (2.8)

Equating inward and outward forces we find

d2 r
dt 2

r
r3
2

d r
dt 2

r
r3

Equation (2.9), or we can write

Second order differential
0 Equation (2.10) equation with six unknowns:

the orbital elements

THE ORBIT
We have a second order differential equation
See text for a way to find a solution
If we re-define our co-ordinate system into polar
coordinates (see Fig.) we can re-write equation
as two second order differential equations in
terms of r0 and 0

Polar Coordinates
In the plane of the
orbit

Polar coordinate system in the plane of the satellites orbit. The plane of the orbit
coincides with the plane of the paper. The axis z0 is straight out of the paper from the
center of the earth, and is normal to the plane of the satellites orbit. The satellites
position is described in terms of the radius from the center of the earth r0 and the angle
this radius makes with the x0 axis, o.

THE ORBIT
We have a second order differential equation
If we re-define our coordinate system into polar coordinates
(see Fig. 2.3) we can re-write equation (2.5) as two second
order differential equations in terms of r0 and 0.

and

THE ORBIT
Solving the two differential equations leads to six constants
(the orbital constants) which define the orbit, and three
laws of orbits (Keplers Laws of Planetary Motion)
Johaness Kepler (1571 - 1630) a German Astronomer and
Scientist

KEPLERS THREE LAWS

Orbit is an ellipse with the larger body (earth) at
one focus
The satellite sweeps out equal arcs in equal time
(NOTE: for an ellipse, this means that the orbital
velocity varies around the orbit)
The square of the period of revolution equals a
CONSTANT the THIRD POWER of SEMIMAJOR
AXIS of the ellipse

Review: Ellipse analysis

y
(0,b)

V(-a,0)

F(-c,0)

P(x,y)

F(c,0)

x
V(a,0)

(0,-b)

a2
Points (-c,0) and (c,0) are the foci.
Points (-a,0) and (a,0) are the vertices.
Line between vertices is the major axis.
a is the length of the semimajor axis.
Line between (0,b) and (0,-b) is the minor axis.
b is the length of the semiminor axis.

b2 c2

Standard Equation:

x2
a2

y2
b2

Area of ellipse:

ab

KEPLER 1: Elliptical Orbits

The orbit as it appears in the orbital plane, The point O is the center of the earth and the
point C is the center of the ellipse. The two centers do not coincide unless the
eccentricity, e, of the ellipse is zero (i.e., the ellipse becomes a circle and a = b). The
dimensions a and b are the semimajor and semiminor axes of the orbital ellipse,
respectively.

e = ellipses eccentricity
O = center of the earth (one
focus of the ellipse)
C = center of the ellipse
a = (Apogee + Perigee)/2

KEPLER 1: Elliptical Orbits (cont.)

Equation 2.17 in text:
(describes a conic section,
which is an ellipse if e < 1)

r0

p
1 e * cos( 0 )

e = eccentricity
e<1
ellipse
e = 0 circle
r0 = distance of a point in the orbit to the
center of the earth
p = geometrical constant (width of the
conic section at the focus)
p=a(1-e2)
0 = angle between r0 and the perigee

KEPLER 2: Equal Arc-Sweeps

Figure 2.5
Law 2
If

t2 - t1 = t4 - t3

then A12 = A34

Velocity of satellite is
SLOWEST at APOGEE;
FASTEST at PERIGEE

Keplers Laws 1 & 2

KEPLER 3: Orbital Period

Orbital period and the Ellipse are related by

T2 = (4

a 3) /

(Equation 2.21)

= Keplers Constant = GME

That is the square of the period of revolution is equal to a
constant

the cube of the semi-major axis.

IMPORTANT: Period of revolution is referenced to inertial space, i.e., to

the galactic background, NOT to an observer on the surface of one of the
bodies (earth).

Keplers 3rd Law: T = (4a)/

= 3.986004418 105 km/s

Numerical Example 1
The Geostationary Orbit:
Sidereal Day = 23 hrs 56 min 4.1 sec
Calculate radius and height of GEO orbit:

T2 = (4 2 a3) /
(eq. 2.21)
Rearrange to a3 = T2 /(4 2)
T = 86,164.1 sec
a3 = (86,164.1) 2 x 3.986004418 x 105 /(4 2)
a = 42,164.172 km = orbit radius
h = orbit radius earth radius = 42,164.172 6378.14
= 35,786.03 km

Solar vs. Sidereal Day

A sidereal day is the time between consecutive crossings of any
particular longitude on the earth by any star other than the sun.
A solar say is the time between consecutive crossings of any
particular longitude of the earth by the sun-earth axis.
Solar day = EXACTLY 24 hrs
Sidereal day = 23 h 56 min. 4.091 s
Why the difference?
By the time the Earth completes a full rotation with respect to an
external point (not the sun), it has already moved its center
position with respect to the sun. The extra time it takes to cross
the sun-earth axis, averaged over 4 full years (because every 4
years one has 366 deays) is of about 3.93 minutes per day.

LOCATING THE SATELLITE IN

ORBIT: 1
Start with Fig. 2.6 in Text

is the True
Anomaly
See eq. (2.22)
o

C is the
center of the
orbit ellipse
O is the
center of the
earth
NOTE: Perigee and Apogee are on opposite sides of the orbit

LOCATING THE SATELLITE

IN ORBIT
Need to develop a procedure that will allow the
average angular velocity to be used
If the orbit is not circular, the procedure is to use a
Circumscribed Circle
A circumscribed circle is a circle that has a radius
equal to the semi-major axis length of the ellipse and
also has the same center

Locate Satellite in Orbit

= Average angular velocity
E = Eccentric Anomaly
M = Mean Anomaly

M = arc length (in radians) that the

satellite would have traversed since
perigee passage if it were moving
around the circumscribed circle
with a mean angular velocity

ORBIT CHARACTERISTICS
Semi-Axis Lengths of the Orbit

p
2
1 e

where

See eq. (2.18)

and (2.16)

and h is the magnitude of

the angular momentum
2

a1 e

2 1/ 2

where

h C

See eqn.
(2.19)

and e is the eccentricity of the orbit

ORBIT ECCENTRICITY
If a = semi-major axis,
b = semi-minor axis, and
e = eccentricity of the orbit ellipse,
then

a
a

b
b

NOTE: For a circular orbit, a = b and e = 0

Time reference
tp Time of Perigee = Time of closest
approach to the earth, at the same time, time
the satellite is crossing the x0 axis, according to
the reference used.
t- tp = time elapsed since satellite last passed
the perigee.

ORBIT DETERMINATION 1:
Procedure:
Given the time of perigee tp, the eccentricity e
and the length of the semimajor axis a:

Average Angular Velocity (eqn. 2.25)

M Mean Anomaly (eqn. 2.30)
E Eccentric Anomaly (solve eqn. 2.30)
ro Radius from orbit center (eqn. 2.27)
o True Anomaly (solve eq. 2.22)
x0 and y0 (using eqn. 2.23 and 2.24)